Reply #15: No, and it's worth noting that the different reactor design seems to have had a lot to do with that.

[Warren DeMontague]

My major concern re: "Chernobyl" and comparisons has had to do with the fact that the sheer tonnage of nuclear material at the entire fukushima complex is something like 25 times that at Chernobyl. That doesn't mean all of it could, or would, be lofted into the stratosphere like major amounts were at Chernobyl, but it's still important to keep in mind.

I don't know who the genius was who thought of keeping the spent fuel in pools next to the reactors but outside of containment, too. That's gotta go down as one of the most idiotic decisions made by anyone, ever.